In what was (almost) certainly Teemu’s final return to Winnipeg as an NHL player, the Jets simply failed to show up. Even a rocking crowd at the MTS Centre couldn't wake them from the Sunday night doldrums. Watching the game you never would have known that the Ducks were the team to have played the night before as the Jets added little to the emotion that was naturally high in Winnipeg.

Zone Entry Data

#

Player

Successful entries

Shots (From Entries)

Shots/entry

Controlled entries

Shots (Controlled Entries)

% With Control

% That Fail

5

Stuart

1

0

0.00

0

0

0%

N/A

8

Trouba

3

1

0.33

1

1

33%

0.0%

9

Kane

8

0

0.00

4

0

50%

0.0%

12

Jokinen

1

0

0.00

0

0

0%

100.0%

14

Peluso

1

0

0.00

0

0

0%

N/A

16

Ladd

5

2

0.40

2

0

40%

33.3%

17

Wright

3

2

0.67

1

1

33%

50.0%

18

Little

2

1

0.50

2

1

100%

33.3%

19

Slater

4

4

1.00

4

4

100%

0.0%

24

Clitsome

3

1

0.33

0

0

0%

N/A

26

Wheeler

7

3

0.43

5

3

71%

28.6%

27

Tangradi

6

2

0.33

2

0

33%

0.0%

33

Byfuglien

4

0

0.00

1

0

25%

0.0%

39

Enstrom

2

0

0.00

0

0

0%

N/A

40

Setoguchi

1

0

0.00

0

0

0%

N/A

44

Bogosian

2

0

0.00

1

0

50%

0.0%

55

Scheifele

3

2

0.67

2

2

67%

0.0%

67

Frolik

2

1

0.50

0

0

0%

100.0%

TEAM

58

19

0.33

25

12

43%

26.5%

OPP

72

33

0.46

37

22

51%

15.9%

OZF

7

3

0.43

DZF

18

6

0.33

Observations

Jim Slater actually had a decent looking game. He controlled all four of his entries and managed shots on each one. As great as that is for Jim, you know it’s been a rough game when he was the best Jet entry-wise.

Ladd had a pair of goals, but as a whole the top line seemed to struggle once again when they got into the offensive zone. Blake Wheeler in particular has really had a tough time to start the year and you really have to hope they can turn it around soon. They were the only line that didn’t get shuffled around last night, but I’ll openly start asking this question: is it possible that they can’t handle the aggressive, hard-nosed grinding game the Western Conference is known for?

Evander Kane had a rare game with no shots on net. He did miss the net on quite a few opportunities, so I would be shocked if both his and Scheifele’s numbers didn’t go back up right away.

It was just a terrible, terrible night to be a Jets defenseman. Never mind the turnovers, being constantly pinned in their own zone and the obvious Bogosian slip-up. They had a combined 2 shots on all their entries and in the third period were more often moving backward than forward. In the past and likely moving forward, the Jets depend on their defense for offensive movement and when they fail…you get games like the one against the Ducks.

Pavelec Performance

Another overall good game by Ondrej Pavelec. The Jets were constantly pinned in their own end and gave up another boatload of shots and chances. The “Pavy! Pavy!” chants were coming down from the fans again and they were certainly earned.

Goal

Situation

Reason It Went In

Where It Went

1

In-zone play

Rebound

Open Net

2

Sustained Pressure

Bad Break (Deflection)

Blocker

3

Turnover

Beat Clean(Player Fault)

Glove

Quick Explanations

Despite his strong play throughout the first period, the first and only goal he let in throughout the frame was his bad. The Jets actually win the faceoff in their own end, but Byfuglien was pushed off the puck along the boards which led to a shot from the point. There was some, but not too much traffic in front of Pavelec when the shot came, yet he really struggled to handle the puck. For some reason he ended up on his back as the puck trickled off to the side, allowing Perreault to easily put it into the empty net.

The Ducks second goal was really a back breaker. After killing a penalty, the Jets just couldn’t get the puck out of the zone despite a couple chances and pretty much forgot about Cogliano standing in the front of the net. Naturally, the Ducks threw it his way and one deflection later it’s 2-2. Not Pavelec’s fault at all.

Ohhh Bogo. That was rough. Self-explanatory, not on Pavelec at all.

Things to Watch For

The Jets have a few days off before heading into their first back to back of the season, playing at Minnesota on Thursday before hosting Dallas on Friday night. Coach Noel made it clear that there will be some hard practices in the next couple days (they have an off day today), so expect and hope for a spirited game against the Wild. Here are some specifics you should watch for:

Will the defensive groupings change? Throwing Clitsome right into the mix and into the top four looked like a pretty big mistake. He only practiced twice beforehand, and I don’t think pairing Trouba with Stuart was a good choice. I’d go back to Buff-Enstrom, Bogo-Trouba, and change things up going with Clitsome-Postma. Who really knows that #NoeLogic will come up with though.

How will Scheifele respond? Following a third period that saw him ride a lot of pine, it will be interesting to see how Mark Scheifele will respond on Thursday. He’s a young kid, so the occasional rough game and likely benching is going to happen. It’s how he responds that really matters.

Can the chances and shots be reduced? All we heard all training camp was how the team was ready to accept a better defensive game. How they needed to buy in and lock teams down. I’m okay with the high volume of shots, as long as the quality chances are numbered. The Jets haven’t exactly done a great job of that, and aren’t going to be able to continue scoring at such a high percentage.

Final Thoughts

Sunday night was a special night (well, the second version of a special night) for Jets fans as they got to say goodbye to Teemu Selanne. For me, it was the first and likely the last chance I will have to get to see the Finnish Flash in person. Although I was and am much too young to fully appreciate him and his relationship with this city, it was pretty cool to be there with my Dad. So, on behalf of us and all Winnipeggers, thanks for everything Teemu. Clearly, you will never be forgotten.

I write things, you read them. Then tend to yell at me for them. It's okay though, I'm from Winnipeg. I can take it. If you actually do like what I write, give me a twitter follow here (@thrubeniuk): https://twitter.com/thrubeniuk

"is it possible that they can’t handle the aggressive, hard-nosed grinding game the Western Conference is known for?"

After playing Tampa, Washington, Carolina, and Florida for the past many years, this team is going to get a rude awakening from the Western conference.

I think the Flames and Jets are the two teams that will suffer most from re-alignment. The Flames because every other team in their new division (except Edmonton lol) has been at the very least a conference finalist in the last 6 years. And the Jets because will suffer they don't have Florida, Tampa, and Carolina to beat up on.

I'm definitely a little concerned that LLW will be in for more than they can handle this year. They could have gotten fortunate to take advantage of the leaky defense of top lines in the East. There's a lot more solid, defensive, scoring lines in the West that won't open up as many opportunities to score.